Two historic Don and Dearne school football trophies have been brought back to life this season after being rediscovered in a cupboard at Brampton Ellis C of E Primary, ending absences from competition that stretched back more than half a century.
The Winstanley Cup trophy had not been competed for in football since 1937, while the West Shield was last awarded in 1970.
The silverware, both once prestigious fixtures of the local sporting calendar, had lain forgotten for decades before being uncovered by teachers at the Wath-upon-Dearne school.
The two trophies were donated to the Don and Dearne Schools FA, who organise a range of popular football competitions including the Totty Cup, Barlow-Salmons Shield, Gordon Swann Cup, Brian Hyde Cup and Karen Walker Shield.
Before they could be presented once again, however, the trophies required extensive restoration work. Years of storage had left them tarnished and showing signs of wear, prompting the Don and Dearne team to enlist the expertise of local silversmith, Bob Lamb, before he retired.
Following their restoration, both competitions were reinstated for the 2025-26 season, creating a unique opportunity for pupils to compete for pieces of silverware that had not been seen on the touchline for decades.
When the finals were played this summer, the winners became the first players in 89 years and 56 years respectively to claim the trophies. Their names will now join those engraved by former pupils stretching back across the twentieth century.
The Winstanley Cup
Girls from Wath C of E overcame a spirited Swinton Fitzwilliam with a 5-1 victory to be the first football team to lift the Winstanley Cup since 1937. And in a serendipitous link, it was Wath National Old Boys – the alumni of the school that is now Wath C of E – who were the last football team to win it 89 years ago.
The trophy was originally donated by William Winstanley, landlord of the New Inn at Wath, in 1905 to raise funds for the town’s aged population. It was initially a knock-out competition for adult teams in Wath and West Melton, apart from a four-year period between 1907 and 1911 when schools competed; Wath Victoria were the last school to win the Winstanley Cup in 1911.
The competition wasn’t played for again until 1920 when it reverted back to adults’ teams. The last time the trophy was won for football was by Wath in 1937.
It then had two years where it was ‘converted’ to a dominoes trophy – last won by Mr J Townend of the Mechanics Institute in 1939. It seems likely that this conversion involved removing the handles.
Attempts to resurrect the Winstanley Cup were made in 1968 and 1972, but the newspaper appeals to locate the trophy were unsuccessful.
In 2025, Amy Furniss, a teacher at Brampton Ellis school, found the Winstanley Cup and suggested that Don & Dearne schools may find a use for it.
Four schools were invited to take part in the revived Winstanley Cup which was to be a seven-a-side competition for girls. Teams from Carrfield, Goldthorpe, Swinton Fitzwilliam, and Wath C of E took part, with the latter two teams reaching the final which was played at Wath Academy in May.
Wath C of E dominated the game to win 5-1. But Fitzwilliam’s coach Tom Skelton was upbeat despite his team missing out on the trophy. “It’s great to see the girls get more chances to play together,” he said.
William Winstanley’s relations, Simon Winstanley, Louise Savage and Simon’s daughter Charlotte were on hand to present the medals and trophy.
After all these years, the trophy is now just 250 yards away from the site of William Winstanley’s New Inn.
The West Shield
Rawmarsh Community School edged past five other schools to win the West Shield in the tightest of tournaments.
A single goal from Rawmarsh’s Bentley Brown was enough to secure a 1-0 victory against hosts Astrea Academy Dearne to claim the title 56 years after it was last competed for.
The West Shield was donated by Edwin West, owner of the Goldthorpe Empire Picture House, in 1922. It was a secondary school competition for the Dearne Valley Schools Association for players aged between 13 and 14.
The competition ran until 1970 when it was last won by Brampton Ellis who beat Thurnscoe High 8-0. The shield stayed at Brampton Ellis for over 50 years before teacher Andrew McCleavy passed it on to the Don & Dearne Schools FA in 2024.
The newly revived tournament was organised on a league basis with six local secondary schools taking part: Dearne, Mexborough, Rawmarsh, St Pius, Swinton and Wath.
Going into the fifth and final round of matches at Astrea Academy Dearne in June, each of the six schools had a chance of winning the West Shield. However, the sole Rawmarsh goal proved crucial as they leapfrogged St. Pius who finished with a goalless draw against Wath.
Brampton Ellis captain from 1970, Bob Mountain, was on hand to present the refurbished shield to Rawmarsh.
